Let me introduce you to Vic. He’s a tour guide. And last month I had the good fortune to be part of a group of visitors he was leading around the remarkable Copped Hall in Essex. It’s an astonishing Georgian mansion in Epping, briefly visible from the M25 as you approach Junction 26 going anticlockwise […]
As I’ve discussed before (Why There’s No Such Thing as ‘Only Local’ Media), we believe interviewees should treat all media appearances – regardless of whether they are local, regional, national or international – equally seriously. However, there is something special about local media outlets – and this includes regional television and newspapers – which offers […]
“Such as what?”: The plea from presenters and journalists to their guests, which often goes unanswered… When interviewees are searching for evidence to help prove that what they are saying is true, they tend to reach for facts and statistics. This is understandable – after all, this type of evidence does a lot of ‘heavy […]
Whether you are being interviewed on camera, giving a presentation in the room, or involved in a live video conference, where you choose to look can make all the difference. What you do with your eyes – which the old saying would have you believe are ‘windows to the soul’ – not only indicate how […]
Before Liz Truss’ now famous series of local radio interviews last Thursday, many media commentators were cynical. Cynical not just about what the Prime Minister was going to say, but also how effective presenters from smaller stations would be at getting to the heart of the issues and give her the grilling a politician of […]
“Gotcha!” For those of us of a certain age, it was the triumphant cry from Noel Edmonds on primetime Saturday night TV, as he presented yet another fellow celebrity with the award of the same name, after secretly filming them being pranked. “Caught you,” those two syllables meant, “and what’s more, we’ve got it on […]
In a series of rapid questions to Liz Truss during the Tory leadership hustings, one was only five words long. And her initial answer was even shorter, even if her supplementary response added some context (1:46:39 in). Julia Hartley-Brewer: President Macron: friend or foe? Liz Truss: The jury’s out (applause). But if I become Prime […]
As a voice coach, one of the most frequently asked questions I receive from delegates is how to get rid of their “Ums” and “Ers” when speaking. They worry that audiences will find them annoying or distracting and that the use of such ‘fillers’ heightens the impression that the speaker is uncertain or nervous – […]
Here’s a little secret. There’s a technique that journalists sometimes use called ‘kite-flying’. It’s a method of extracting a number out of an interviewee who is reluctant to reveal it. Here’s how it works: After asking the initial question ‘how much?’ and being told by the interviewee that it’s not something they wish to reveal, […]
Hypothetical questions seem to be loved by media interviewers almost as much as they are hated by media interviewees. This is because the “What would happen if?” or “What would you do if?”’ scenarios that they involve are never positive ones for the guest concerned. For example, you can’t imagine a politician being offered the […]
